If you are reading after 7/9/21, you can ignore this whole paragraph. Just wanted to let you know, I changed Maria’s name to Scarlet. I used the name ‘Maria’ in When Rogues Fall and I forgot. Anywayss, I changed Maria to Scarlet.
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Forgiveness.
I’ve read Death’s books and one of them was on the topic of inner peace. I have been out of my element. I am constantly boiling inside like forgotten water on a stove. I need inner peace. So, I decided to make that be the reason, and the only reason, I forgive scum like Marlon.
Death’s book said that when I accept that I can’t change the past, I can move forward and I can finally breathe my own clear air. It’s for my benefit not Marlon’s.
“He’s in there,” Death says.
An awful stench comes from the disgusting house before us. The yard is littered with beer bottles and discarded needles. I am sure there are ghosts here but I can’t see any of them.
“Is anyone here?” I ask.
Death lowers his head to look at me. He grabs my hand and the in-between becomes clear. There are a few ghosts here and there. I peer up at him “How did you know holding my hand would do that?”
“I didn’t. I just guessed,” Death admits “Now, I told you that you don’t have to do a thing okay?”
“I understand,”
We take a single step and glass breaks in the house. We hear more thrashing and yelps coming from inside. There is hollering and screaming coming from inside before Marlon comes flying out the front door.
He looks like he aged considerably. His eyes are sunken in and looks more dead than other ghosts. His hair is unkempt and knotted up and his eyes are crazy and animal-like. His eyes are peeled on the door and back away.
A woman comes out the door frame. A drop dead beautiful woman. Her hair is long and her face is without a single blemish. She is wearing a tight white outfit with a golden scythe in her left hand. Her voice is full of power when she speaks.
“You have violated several laws. Ghost or not, you may never harm anyone in the in-between.”
“But I didn’t,” Marlon tries to say.
“We saw you using a forbidden hex to hurt someone that belonged to the in-between. If you would have done so in the world of the living, they would’ve dealt with you. If you were in the steps of moving on, your company would have dealt with you. You’re in our jurisdiction mortal, so we deal with you.” She raises her scythe “You know what happens when you get caught in our jurisdiction?”
“W-What?” Marlon says stuttering.
“We turn you to dust,” She says, bringing her scythe down. She slices him in half and soon he twists into a dust devil of sand.
Another wave of heat goes through me but this time it takes my breath. I struggle to keep it. I take my hand from Death’s and put my hands on my knees. I struggle to keep my insides in. It takes me minutes to recover this time. When I raise my head, I can see the woman clear as day even without Death’s grasp.
Her head swivels in our direction. She makes her way over to us with a look of curiosity. Death is stiff. The woman acknowledges him first. “You look familiar. Have we met?”
“We haven’t,” Death replies.
The lady tilts her head “Really? Have we worked together? Are we in the same Reaper division?”
“No, we aren’t,”
She leans in, twirling her scythe like a wand. “What’s your name?”
“Death,”
Her eyes widen. “Oh, CEO of Death Corp. You must have been here to claim him into your company. You didn’t confirm him yet. I can’t reverse what I did. Sorry… Well, my name’s Scarlet,”
“Scarlet…” Death repeats. There is so much sorrow in his voice. It catches both me and Scarlet off guard.
Scarlet glances at me. “Who are you?”
She is so bubbly despite what she just did. She’s an overgrown fairy. That’s the way she behaves. She grins awaiting my answer.
“I’m Anwen,”
“Oh, yeah! That girl from the Formal. Yeah, I’ve heard of you.” Scarlet grins “You are beautiful! Anyways, I have more rebels to catch. I hope I see you guys some other time,” She says, her eyes lingering on Death’s face for a second more than normal. She then poofs in a ball of smoke. She’s gone.
Death is still stiff and is processing what just happened. He stares where she stood. His eyes are full of heartbreak and longing. It appears like he wishes she never left. “Scarlet,” he says before laughing like a crazy person. “Of all people,”
He takes my hand and we are in his home faster than I can blink. He moves a little slow. “Let’s go to bed,”
“But it’s six pm…” I reply.
“So?” Death quips.
“You knew her right?” I ask.
He seems taken aback from my question. He stares before relaxing his defensive shoulders. “Yes, I did.”
I can see he doesn’t want to talk about it. His eyes are all shifty and he looks frighteningly uncomfortable with the way he’s swaying on his feet. I decide not to push it. I just think about Scarlet’s face and how it mimics Death’s.
I think Scarlet knows Death too.
_____
*Drums fingers*
Hmm. Trouble?